Railway-switch.



No. 674,955. r Patented May 28, IBM.

J. a. BOWLES.

RAILWAY SWITCH. (Application filed Sept. 1, 1900. (No Model.) 3Sheets-Sheet I.

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No. 674,955. Patented May 28, l90l.

J. R. BUWLES.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

(Application filed Sept. 1, 1900.)

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RAILWAY- SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,955, dated May 28,1901. Application filed September 1, 1900. Serial No. 28,825. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH R BowLEs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Salem, in the county of Roanoke and State of Virginia, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Railway-Switches, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements inrailway-switches and means for operating the same; and its primaryobject is to provide a switch which may be readily operated from a caror other vehicle approaching the same.

To these ends the invention consists in providing a lever which ispivotally secured between the rails of the track and to a switchplate.This lever may be suitably housed and is provided at the end farthestremoved from the switch with a projection adapted to be moved laterallywhen a bell-crank lever of peculiar construction contacts therewith.This lever is mounted upon the vehicle,which travels upon the track, andis provided with means whereby the same may be rocked so as to contactwith the projection upon the switch-lever at either side. Suitablelocking means are provided for the bell-crank lever, and they are soconstructed and arranged as to be released automatically after theshifting of the switch.

The invention also consists in the further novel construction andcombination of parts hereinafter more fully described, and illustratedin the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification,and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the switch and the mechanismsecured thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the switch-lever and itsattachments. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the operating mechanism. Fig. 4is a side elevation of the locking device detached. Fig. 5 is anelevation of the bell-crank lever. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of themechanism applied to a car, and Fig. 7 is a View of adevice foroperating the mechanism by foot.

Referring to said figures by numerals of reference, 1 is a casing,within which is pivoted a lever 2. This lever is provided at one of itsends with a cross-strip 3, which is pivoted thereto and secured at itsend or ends to The opposite end of the the switch-plates.

lever 2 has a stud 3 thereon, upon which is loosely mounted a roller 4.This stud is adapted to project through a slot 5, formed within the topof the casing l, and is obviously movable laterallytherein. A projection6, which is preferably V-shaped in elevation, is secured between thetracks at a point adjacent to the roller 4..

The roller upon the lever 2 is adapted to be forced to one side or theother by operat ing mechanism of peculiar construction,which is mountedupon the car or other vehicle, at the front thereof. This mechanismcomprises a shaft 7, which is journaled within the front of the car andwithin asuitable cross-strip or bracket 8. Secured to this shaft 7 is asleeve 9, having an arm 10 extending upward therefrom, said arm beingconnected, by means of a spring 11, to a hooked bracket 12, located invertical alinement therewith. It will be seen that this spring willretain the arm 10 nor mally in an upright position.

Secured to the inner end of the shaft 7 is a bell-crank lever 13, havingarms 14 extending rearward therefrom at the ends. These arms are solocated as to contact with one side or the other of the roller 4 wheneither of said arms is swung into the position shown in dotted lines,Fig. 5.

The front end of shaft 7 is provided with a crank 15, said crank beingconnected, by means of a pitman 16, to the lower end of a lever 17,which is pivotally secured at a point between its ends to the car 18.

A collar 19 is secured to the shaft 7 and provided with twolongitudinally-extending ribs or teeth 20. Either of these is adapted tobe engaged by the recessed end of a lever 21, which is pivotally mountedto the frame of a car in a desired manner and is engaged by a recurvedlever 22. This lever is pivoted to the car-frame in front of the lever21, and its rear end extends downward, so as to contact and ride upwardupon the projection 6 after the roller 4. has been shifted by the lever13. It will be obvious that this upward movement of the arm 22 willdepress the recessed end of lever 21, disengaging the same from a toothof collar 19 and permitting spring 11 to return the bell-crank lever tonormal position.

When it isdesired to switch to the right, the lever 17 is pulled in thatdirection, causing the right-arm lever 13 to swing downward. The samewill be held in this position by the lever 21, which will engage Withone of the teeth 20. This lever is held in engagement with the tooth bythe weight of the arm 22. When the arm 14 is lowered, it will come intoalinement with the roller 4 at one side of the center thereof, carryinglever 2 therewith and shifting the switch-plates. Arm 22 will then beraised by projection 6 as the vehicle continues in its movement, and thespring 11 will promptly return lever 13 to normal position.

It will be understood that when it is desired to shift the switch to theleft it is merely necessary to reverse the above operation.

Instead of providing the roller projection upon the lever 2 a wedge maybe secured thereon and contacted by rollers mounted upon the arms 14.

In Fig. 7 I have shown means whereby the v lever 17 may be operated byfoot. In said figure I employ a short lever 23, having a treadle 24 atthe upper end. This lever is curved and adapted to contact with thelower end of an arm 25, projecting from lever 17, and a second treadle26 is also provided upon this lever 17. It will be seen that by pressingu pon one treadle 26 the mechanism will be shifted in one direction andby depressing treadle 24 the movement will bereversed.

While I have shown and describedthe device as employing locking andunlocking means of peculiar construction for holding the bell-cranklever in adjusted position and for releasing the same after the switchhas been operated, I do not desire to restrict myself to the use of thismeans, as, if desired, any suitable mechanism may be provided whereby.the bell-crank lever and its shaft may be thrown from one side to theother by a lever or other suitable means operated by the motorman.

In the foregoing description I have shown the preferred form of myinvention; but I do not limit myself thereto, as I am aware thatmodifications may be made therein without departing from the principleor sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and I therefore reservethe right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of myinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a switch-plate and a pivoted lever securedthereto and having a projection thereon; of a vehicle having a shaftthereto, a lever secured to the shaft, an arm to the lever, means forshifting said arm into the path of the projection, an arm to the shaft,a spring connection between said arm and the vehicle, means for lockingthe shaft at the limit of its movement, and means for antomaticallyunlocking said shaft.

2. The combination with a switch-plate and a pivoted lever securedthereto, and having a projection thereon; of a vehicle having a shaftthereto, a bell-crank lever secured to the shaft, arms to the lever,means for shifting either of said arms into the path of the projection,an arm to the shaft, a bracket, a spring connection between said arm andbracket, and means for locking the shaft at the limit of its movement.

3. The combination with a switch-plate and a pivoted lever securedthereto, and having a projection thereon; of a vehicle havinga shaftthereto, a bell-crank lever secured to the shaft, arms to the lever,means for rocking either of said arms into the path of the projection,an arm to the shaft, a bracket, a spring connection between the arm andbracket, a toothed sleeve upon the shaft, a lever adapted to engage thesleeve when it reaches the limits of its movement, an arm engaging thelever, and means for automatically raising the arm and releasing thelever.

4. The combination with a switch-plate and a pivoted lever securedthereto, and having a projection thereon; of a vehicle havinga shaftthereto, a bell-crank lever to the shaft, means for rocking said shaft,a toothed collar upon the shaft, a recessed lever adapted to engage saidteeth, and means for holding the lever in engagement.

5; The combination with a switch-plate and a pivoted lever securedthereto, and having a projection thereon; of a vehicle having a shaftthereto, a bell-crank lever to the shaft, means for rocking said shaft,a toothed collar upon the shaft, a recessed lever adapted to engage saidteeth, a recurved pivoted arm secured to said lever and retaining thesame in engagement with the teeth, and a projection adapted to engagethe arm and release the lever.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH H. BOWLES.

